Today we swam (I got in a mile in a military pool) and hiked in two different places, in search of wildlife. We made a fine sight calling out “Heeeeere bear, where are you?” We did this all day, first on a three-mile hike.
Our second hike was a six-miler, and the more successful of the two, on the South Fork of Eagle River trail. We met four dogs there. And saw scenes like this:
We crossed streams coming off glaciers and headed for nearby lakes.
We walked on this nice, clean, new trail:
And stared at mountains to our front, left and right.
On our way back we rounded a curve in the trail and saw:
I got to within about 25 yards of them before they started walking away.
Having gotten my shots, and feeling lucky to not make the mother charge me, I left them alone.
We finished our hike, now we need to see some bears.
The air conditioning guy was scheduled to come today, precisely between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. He did not come early, when he could have worked in pleasant outdoor conditions. No, he arrived just before 3 p.m., in the rain, the poor guy. And so I did not get to ride today because I waited on him and it rained after he left. }
But!
I did get to hear a repairman say “What the?”
I think this nice gentleman’s company has been to the house a few times before for various repairs. It is one of those companies that is a series of initials, which is hard to keep straight over time, but they are affiliated with the home warranty people and we use our home warranty quite a bit. This time because the air doesn’t cool anything.
We have a nice house, everyone that visits is kind enough to compliment the layout. It is in a nice neighborhood. And it was built upon a haunted burial ground. Also, the previous owner hired people that had some curious ideas about home maintenance.
When he looked at the air handler unit, nothing made sense. Our guy today, after going through the full series of “I don’t even know why it was done that way,” and all of the many variants, said he hadn’t seen anyone do this in 15 years on the job. Someone made a previous repair and used a different manufacturer’s parts, basically whatever was at hand. It was like, he said “Someone took the engine out of a Toyota and put it in a Cadillac.”
So we got freon, and the anticipation of a larger bill, and this mystery of why people have done things in this house that professionals have never seen before. (This wasn’t the first time.)
But the air works, at least in the short term, again. That puts you in a pretty zen place, in the short term.
Of course the rain cooled everything off, meaning we didn’t need the air tonight, so we’re right back to where we started on the “Come on, house!” meter.
Things to read … because she can’t stare at that app forever.
They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.
It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.
Did you hear that? The other team’s fans?
They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, “Go Tornadoes!” Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions. “I WOULDN’T EXPECT ANOTHER PARENT TO TELL SOMEBODY TO HIT THEIR KIDS. BUT THEY WANTED US TO!”
And a 15-year-old introduces his stethoscope iPhone invention to the world:
So last night and today, in our final meeting on the 99th volume of >The Samford Crimson, we said goodbye to the old staff. Most are graduating and, as grizzled veterans of our regular critique meetings I let them lead the show today. They immediately made fun of me, which is great. They also find and understand the various and very occasional design and news problems as well as I do, which is even better. If we’ve made them nitpickers and sticklers, we’re doing something right.
Immediately after that I met with much of the new staff. The new editor-in-chief is moving up from the news editor position. Many of the editorial board members have also been in my classes or are familiar faces as contributors. A few of them I remember recruiting on far too many phone calls when they were in high school and look at us now.
Before we were doing they were making fun of me too, which is great.
My last class of the term was today. They did not make fun of me — within earshot at least — because I’m still grading them, I’d guess. I have, roughly, 120 things to read between now and then, so everyone is playing it cool with the jokes.
My day started with a run — I did 5K with negative splits and a sub-7:30 mile to finish — I do not know what is happening. This evening I’m finishing with a run through papers, where I made small dents in the grading pile.
Things to read … because reading only leaves dents in my brain.
I am not a food blogger. I am not a food blogger. I am not a food blogger.
But I went to The Paw Paw Patch, which does a cafeteria style meat-and-three. And the vegetables were a childhood memory. I often eat things in a certain order, for whatever reason, and I eat each option without swapping out to a new part of the dish. But these, as a child I mixed up.
So when I saw them on the food line I smiled. I knew what I was getting. But I did not stir up the entire plate. Funny how something like that can make an impression on you. Maybe we don’t often realize it until after the fact, if even then. And how we make our impressions upon others? That’s always a mystery. Something to think about.
When I was eating the owner came out and offered some of those ice pops you had in elementary school. Apparently he was just trying to make some space. He began talking with an elderly man and woman a few tables away. Somehow the conversation turned to the owner’s wife and how she once worked at a fur store about 15 or 20 years ago. This elderly lady had purchased a fur coat there during those same years. She said she paid $7,000 in cash and does your wife remember that?
So he had to call his wife to find out the level of impression and the older pair ate their little popsicles.
The older gentleman had apparently just gotten out of the hospital for some reason or another and he said that this, at Paw Paw Patch, was the first good meal he’d enjoyed in several days. And I thought back to when I visited a friend in the hospital and her husband had gone out to get her a plate from Paw Paw Patch because it was one of her favorite restaurants. I can’t ever go there without thinking about, because that was, I think, the first time I’d heard of the place. That’s an impression to make.
I also will forever think of the time I walked in there and the staff and I did lines from Coming to America. They seemed entertained that I knew most of the script.
Things to read … because the Giants can’t play the Packers every night.
I also have an impression of one of the first pieces from The Onion that I read — though I thought it was older. How many stories from 15 years ago can we recall?
Walking from here to there on the Samford campus. Specifically from my office to the pool, which is inside this building. It looks a bit like autumn in this shot, doesn’t it? It still has had that slight coolness in the air, too.
It has felt cook like that for some time, at least until this week, which is a late arrival here. It finally feels as if spring has arrived. And that’ll just be a brief pause before summer weather, I’m sure.
Anyway, swam 2,000 yards this evening, which is 1.14 miles. I’m a bit pleased with how the swimming has come along. I’m still not going to go anywhere fast, but I’m becoming perhaps a slightly more technical proficient swimmer and my cardio is improving.
I do not know what is happening.
Things to read … because some things you do need to know about in life.
